Extra Credit: 17th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film

From the desk of (but slightly modified by me) the Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs:

Tidewater Community College will host the 17th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film at the Roper Performing Arts Center beginning on Saturday, January 23rd, and running through January 31st. TCC and the Marilyn and Marvin Simon Jewish Community Center are proud to once again bring this rich cultural tradition to the Hampton Roads community.

With each passing year, the festival has grown and matured, providing a cinematic feast and cultural celebration. The eight-day festival will feature a wide variety of films, appealing to a cross-section of tastes and viewpoints - from the opening night presentation of A Matter of Size (Israel, 2009) in Hebrew with English subtitles, to Eyes Wide Open (2009) in Hebrew with English subtitles, running January 31st. The film Zrubavel, to be shown on Tuesday, January 26th, will be followed by a panel discussion involving TCC students. This unique film features a poignant look at a multi-generational family of Ethiopian immigrants and the challenges that they face assimilating into their new Israeli homeland. The conflict of the younger generation trying to fit in while their elders try to hold on to their native customs introduces the viewer to this ethnic group and their struggle to adjust. Zrubavel is the first feature length film created by Ethiopian-Israeli film makers.

For a complete list of this year's film selections and related information visit http://www.simonfamilyj.org/.

The film festival is free to all TCC employees and students with a valid ID card. I encourage you to enjoy as much of the Festival as you can and to support our TCC students by attending the showing of Zrubavel on January 26.

And now your instructor speaks...er...writes:

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to complete it, requires you to see any or all of the films and then for each film attended and viewed write a response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
• What did you learn?
• Praise it or critique it, or both.
• What did it tell us about families?
  
• What does it tell us about self-image?
• What does it tell us about religion, politics, and borders?
  
• What does it tell us about what we consider to be acceptable in society?
• What does it tell us about how we construct identity and/or culture?
• What does it tell us about...
  

Every response must:

• Respond to the end of the film as well, so I know you attended the entire film.
• Do not summarize. Again, don't tell your audience what the movie is about. Assume they've just watched it themselves.

I suggest sticking around for any question and answer sessions as they can be very informative and maybe there will be finger foods.

Word Count: 500+ words each

Value: 10 points each

Due Date: The week of 10 February 2010 for all responses. Must be printed and stapled for traditional and hybrid courses and should be emailed for online students.

Great Opportunity for Students: Charles M. Schulz Award

Great opportunity for cartoonists! Give it a try!

Synopsis: The sponsor, Scripps, provides an award to honor an undergraduate student cartoonist whose cartoons were published in print or online in 2009 by a college newspaper or college magazine in the United States or its territories.

The Award: Charles M. Schulz Award

Program information found here.

Deadline(s): 01/30/2010

Link to full program description here.


Image borrowed from The Comic Book Database.

Precious: Extra Credit

Brainstorming: Ever feel like the world's keeping you down, but you just gotta say f*&# it and make your own path?

See the new film Precious.



Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to see the film and then write a blog post in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).
• Praise it or critique it, or both.
  
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
• What does it tell us about rhetoric used by society, parents, teachers, men?
• What does it tell us about self-image?
• What does it tell us about what we consider to be acceptable in society?
• What does it tell us about identity and culture?
• What does it tell us about...
  
• Do not summarize (don't tell your audience what the movie is about).
  

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 10 points.

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific post by 8 December 2009.

Richmond Zine Fest Extra Credit

Brainstorming: Have you ever been interested in reading or self-publishing alternative and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) magazines and comics (or comix)?

Requirements: Attend the Richmond Zine Fest and write about your experience in great detail.

Purchase a few zines or comix or see if there are any free ones. Read them respond.

Remember to give specific reasons for your thoughts or feelings. Take notes as you attend this event. Without including specific details, your thoughts are not as meaningful as they could be.

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 25 points

Due Date: Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by midnight Monday 16 November 2009.

Bitches Scene & Women Unseen: Hip Hop & Gender in the 21st Century: Extra Credit Opportunity

Brainstorming: How do depictions of women in Hip Hop inform our interactions with, attitudes about, and opinions of women?

This Thursday, 29 October 2009 from 4:30-7:00 pm is the screening of the Bitches Scene & Women Unseen: Hip Hop & Gender in the 21st Century documentary, followed by a panel discussion featuring Maori Karmael Holmes, Ursula Rucker, and Lucy Bell.

UPDATE: You can also watch the documentary here.

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to attend the film and discussion and then write a blog response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

* Praise it or critique it, or both.
* How did it make you feel?
* What did it make you think?
* How does it relate to knowledge you already have?
* Has it changed your mind about anything?
* What arguments did were made?
* How well were the arguments made?
* Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

Remember to give specific reasons for your thoughts or feelings. Take notes as you attend this event. Without including specific details, your thoughts are not as meaningful as they could be.

Word Count: 300+ words

Value: 10 points.

UPDATE: Due Date: Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 1 December 2009.

Michael and Me: An Extra Credit Assignment

Brainstorming: What makes the world, the government, and our heads go round? Ask Michael Moore.

See Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story, and see if it makes your head spin.

Requirements: Your extra credit assignment, should you choose to do it, requires you to see the film and then write a blog response in which you should consider addressing several of these bullets:

• Praise it or critique it, or both.
  
• How did it make you feel?
  
• What did it make you think?
  
• How does it relate to knowledge you already have?
  
• Has it changed your mind about anything?
• What arguments did he make?
• How well did he make his arguments?
  
• Do not summarize; that's why we have Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

Word Count: 500+ words

Value: 10 points.

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 1 December 2009.

Image taken from the movie's website as linked above.

How To: RSS Reader: Keeping Track of Your Colleague's Blogs and Other Websites, Too!

The best way for you to keep up with postings on the various blogs of your classmates would be to register and use Google Reader, which is an RSS feed reader. You don't need to know what the heck this means to use it though. I've typed "Google Reader" as a hyperlink to get you started. If you already have a Gmail account (not the VCCS watered down version), you'll already have a feed reader account. There are other readers available, such as one through Yahoo! mail.

Basically, an RSS feed reader allows users to feed updates from various web sources onto a single page. Let's say you enjoy skimming through six different blogs a week, but sometimes forget one or another. Now you'll be able to see all updates on a single page by using one of these readers.

How do you know when you can add a page to your RSS feed reader? Simply look for something like this and click on it:



Image um..."borrowed" from these folks.

The Sketchbook Project

Want your artwork work in a museum?

Click here.

American Library Association's Banned Books Week - Extra Credit

September 26−October 3, 2009

Click here for more information.


For some videos related to Banned Books Week, click on the following links:

100 Banned Books (2008)

Banned Books Week: Puppet Book Banners


Extra Credit: For 10 points extra credit choose a banned book, read it, and write and post a 500 or more-word response to why you think this book was banned (think historical, cultural, etc. context) and why you believe it should not be banned.

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 1 December 2009.

Extra Credit Opportunity: Hispanic Heritage Month

This month is Hispanic Heritage Month!

Your next Extra Credit Opportunity for 10 points is this:

On Thursday September 24th in the Pungo Auditorium at 12:30 pm is "Praising Our Hispanic American Cultural Patchwork" presentation by Dr. Gabriela Christie Toletti.

Attend this event and then create a new blog post and write 300-500 words on your reaction and response to Dr. Toletti's presentation. Do not summarize, but think and react to what she's presented. Again, do not summarize. Respond. I want your beautiful thoughts!

Blog your response and email me the link to that specific response by 15 October 2009.

Learn more about how TCC is celebrating on this page where I got the image.